Banks

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday approved the merger of HDFC and HDFC Bank. This comes after the HDFC twins received in-principle approvals from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Announced in April last year, the HDFC-HDFC Bank merger is the largest in India’s corporate history, with the deal valued at nearly $40 billion.

India's banking system is expected to remain unscathed from the troubles in Credit Suisse as it has a very small presence in the country, experts said.

Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd on Friday said its board would consider raising funds through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) in tranches aggregating to Rs 57,000 crore.

Debunking media reports which indicated a possibility of deferment of IDBI Bank disinvestment, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said the stake sale is in the post-EoI stage. The government and the LIC are together selling about 61 per cent stake in IDBI Bank and had in January received multiple Expressions of Interest (EoIs) for the same.

IndusInd Bank’s stock has come under selling pressure recently after the lender’s chief executive officer Sumanth Kathpalia received a lower extension from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) than what was ratified by IndusInd Bank’s board. The RBI approved a 2-year extension on March 10, while IndusInd Bank’s board had ratified a 3-year extension back in September 2022. This spooked investors, leading to IndusInd Bank’s stock falling over 10% on March 13.

Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO Uday Kotak said on Thursday said that with macro factors turning positive, India can "navigate well" the current turmoil in the global financial market and stand out.

Europe's main markets have opened higher after moves from the Swiss Central Bank reassured investors over the financial health of Credit Suisse, the media reported.

​​Largest bank failures in the history of the US...

Indian banks in both the public and private sectors have passed global brokerage Jefferies’ SVB test – an assessment of the quality of deposits as well as the impact of mark-to-market losses on the bonds held by banks till maturity. The brokerage says Indian banks are well placed due to high quality deposits and lesser reliance on investment in securities.

Amid the US administration's move to backstop collapsed Silicon Valley Bank's (SVB) deposits, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said the developments are "reassuring" and will bring relief to startups.

"FDIC's communication yesterday saying all depositors will get access to their funds is a relief to the startup community," said Prabhu Ramachandran, CEO & Co-founder at Facilio, a property operations software provider.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman says more banks will probably fail even if U.S. authorities step in to shore up confidence in the banking system after last week's collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Daily Mail reported.

The Reserve Bank is likely to hike benchmark lending rates by 25 basis points in its bi-monthly policy next month to bring down inflation within the central bank's comfort zone, DBS Group Research said on Monday.

The collapse of three banks in the US, including the giant Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), within a week has hammered the global crypto market, wiping off more than $70 billion as Bitcoin fell below $20,000 per single coin.

Silicon Valley Bank's abrupt collapse - which unfolded in a matter of hours earlier last week - has left Silicon Valley entrepreneurs unnerved and jittery. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Friday seized the assets of Silicon Valley Bank - the action reportedly in the middle of the business day highlighted the severity of the situation.

Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on Friday, while New York-based Signature Bank was closed by the state regulators on Sunday (local time), becoming the second US bank to have collapsed.

Digital or e-rupee worth over Rs 130 crore is in circulation on a pilot basis as of February 28, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.

New York-based Signature Bank was closed by the state regulators, becoming the second US bank after Silicon Valley Bank to have collapsed in a matter of less than a week.

The collaboration will help Axis Bank bank to leverage ITCMAARS, an agri-tech application to address the agricultural requirements of farmers. It will allow Axis Bank to offer a wide range of products and services through its semi-urban branches. Products that will be offered would include farmer loans and gold loans, among others.

Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank has a "small exposure" to the embattled Adani Group which has been made in line with its credit philosophy, a senior official has said. Paritosh Kashyap, president and head for wholesale banking at Kotak Mahindra Bank, said the issues surrounding Adani Group are more of a "capital market and valuations issue and not a credit issue."

Indian banks just reported a stellar December quarter driven by healthy growth in margins, loans and a continued improvement in asset quality. Despite this, their valuations remain subdued, according to a report by US-based brokerage Bernstein. Bernstein adds that Indian banking stocks are still trading below their peak price-to-book multiples, also known as PB ratio.

India’s third-largest private lender Axis Bank on Wednesday said it has completed the acquisition of Citibank’s consumer business. Valued at ₹11,603 crore, the deal includes Citibank’s lucrative credit card customer base, retail banking, loans, and wealth management services. Announced in March 2022, the transaction is now complete, three months ahead of Citibank’s expectations. As part of the deal, approximately 3,200 Citibank employees will also be absorbed by Axis Bank.